Russia Must be DeProgrammed, Europe's Only Hope /Alastair Crooke & Lt Col Daniel Davis

Video Description

** NEW MERCH ** Jackets & Sweatshirts, Thermo Mugs!! Daniel Davis Deep Dive Merch: Etsy store https://www.etsy.com/shop/DanielDavisDeepDive?ref=seller-platform-mcnav The discussion argues that current European and Ukrainian rhetoric about peace and negotiations with Russia is deeply unrealistic and dangerous. Public statements frame peace not just as a ceasefire, but as forcing Russia to accept security guarantees, submit to the “rule of law,” and undergo a form of psychological “de-radicalization.” The speaker interprets this as a belief among European elites that Russia must be morally and psychologically transformed—made into a compliant, “acceptable” state—before peace is possible. The analyst contends this mindset ignores the real balance of power. Russia holds military, economic, and political leverage and views the war as existential, with strong domestic backing. Demanding Russia’s defeat or ideological reprogramming from a position of weakness makes genuine negotiations nearly impossible. The conversation compares this thinking to post–World War II Germany and Japan, noting that such “de-radicalization” only worked because those countries were totally defeated—conditions that do not apply to Russia. The logic is likened to defeated powers trying to dictate terms to the victor. The speakers argue that European elites are driven less by rational strategy than by a quasi-messianic worldview dividing the conflict into absolute good versus evil. This leads them to persist with failed policies—sanctions, weapons deliveries, and optimistic timelines for Russia’s collapse—despite years of contrary evidence. They suggest the real strategic aim is to draw the United States into a direct war with Russia, believing American power could shift the balance. However, this rests on outdated assumptions that Russia is weak, which the speakers argue is contradicted by battlefield and economic realities. Finally, they conclude that many Western leaders privately know their claims are false but cannot accept a world in which the West no longer dictates outcomes. This denial creates a collective “psychosis” among elites, while European publics themselves show little appetite for war—an increasingly dangerous disconnect with potentially catastrophic consequences.